Smoking 3 Cigarettes Per Day Increases Your Risk of Death from Cardiovascular Disease by 65%

Researchers at Brigham Young University say that while cutting back on smoking helps a bit, that smoking even an occasional cigarette each day still does considerable harm.

Think that you’re doing your heart health a favor by only
sneaking the occasional cigarette each day? Well, smoking a couple of cigarettes
a day might not raise your risk of early death as steeply as a heavy habit
will, but researchers at the American Heart Association and Brigham Young
University say that smoking just 3 cigarettes per day raises your risk of death
from cardiovascular disease by 65%.

Brigham Young University researchers stumbled on the concern inducing statistic after extracting data from the massive American Cancer Society
Prevention Study and combining this data with other resource studies on second
had smoke exposure and fine particulate air pollution exposure.

Other findings from the data analysis include:

Smoking
half a pack daily increases your risk of death from cardiovascular disease
by 79% and a pack a day habit increase the risks by 100%

People
exposed to second hand smoke who live in areas of high air pollution have a 20-30% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease

The researchers say that while reducing the amount you smoke
has some health benefits, the benefits of reducing intake do not come close to
matching the decrease in disease risk associated with quitting entirely. Lead Researcher C. Arden Pope Ph.D. of Brigham
Young University
commented, saying, “A critical finding of our study is that smoking is unhealthy
even at small amounts. Reducing the amount one smokes does some good, but the
biggest benefits come from stopping completely.”

Helpful Reading:

For first responders at risk of PTSD and burnout, learn more about: daily habits that protect you, red-flags that warn of an impending problem and adaptive response techniques that safeguard your professional standing.